SUNDAY NATION July 26, 2015 ANALYSIS | International News 53 In recent times, terrorists have wreaked havoc in East Africa and Horn of Africa regions Obama’s visit has re-energised war on terror A Ahead of the US leader’s trip to Kenya and Ethiopia, there were clear signs that AlShabaab militants were in for some unusual heat BY CIUGU MWAGIRU ciugumwagiru@yahoo.co.uk mid the euphoria surrounding US President Barack Obama’s visit to Kenya and Ethiopia, there were clear signs last week that the infamous Al-Shabaab militants holed up in Somalia were in for some unusual heat. In recent times, the terror- ists have wreaked havoc in East African and Horn of Africa regions. Alarmingly, they have been making deadly incursions into Kenya, leaving a trail of death and destruction that has left whole populations perpetually despondent. The Al-Shabaab Islamist mili- tants have for some years been fighting to overthrow Westernbacked Somalia government, which is also propped up and protected by the 22,000-strong African Union Mission in Somalia (Amisom). After expanding their terrorist activities through incursions into Kenya, the insurgents have vowed to continue with the campaign for as long as the Kenya Defence Forces continue to fight them inside Somalia. Revamped onslaught However, as Obama’s arrival in Kenya neared, the Al-Qaedaaffiliated Al-Shabaab terrorists appeared to be in the sights of Amisom forces, who were reportedly backing Somali government troops in the revamped onslaught against the terror group. The result was the capture on Friday of the southern Somalia town of Dinsor, an Al-Shabaab stronghold, as the defeated insurgents reportedly took to their heels. The capture of the town followed that of the nearby town of Bardhere just two days earlier. Described as the only major urban centre still controlled by the Al-Shabaab before its capture such a move would avert a new conflict in the poor African nation and remove the prospect of intervention by the army. Back to the newly intensi- fied anti-terror campaign, the fallen town of Bardhere, situated 400 km southwest of the capital Mogadishu, is near the AlShabaab militants’ headquarters in Bansoor, where the terrorists moved after they were flushed out of Kismayu in 2013. Given that the two fallen towns were among the remaining key 22,000 Members of the African Union Mission in Somalia, a regional force fighting Al-Shabaab in the Horn of Africa state JEFF ANGOTE | NATION Security is tight as shoppers troop to the Westgate Mall when it reopened almost two years after a terror attack. on Wednesday, Bardhere had been under the control of Al-Shabaab over the past seven years, and was viewed as strategically vital for the terrorists’ activities. In the meantime, even as the anti-terror campaign picked up, Burundi went ahead and held a controversial presidential election on Tuesday. However, UN elec- toral observers – who were among the few international monitors in Tuesday’s poll – reportedly said the election took place in a “climate of widespread fear and intimidation”. That assessment notwithstand- The intensified anti-terror action came amid reports that both countries (Kenya and Ethiopia) were keen to impress President Obama even before he visited the two countries.” Tunisia adopts anti-terror law amid human rights concerns TUNIS, Sunday The Tunisian Parliament adopted a new anti-terror law overnight on Friday aimed at beefing up powers to confront a jihadist threat following deadly attacks but which has been slammed by rights groups as draconian. The law was adopted after three days of debate by 174 members of Parliament with 10 abstentions and no votes against, according to an AFP tally. President of the Assembly Mo- hamed Ennaceur welcomed the passing of the “law against terrorism and money laundering”, calling it an “historic” moment. “It’s with pride we have arrived at this historic moment. This law will reassure the citizens,” Ennaceur said. The new legislation comes after a gunman massacred 38 tourists on a Tunisian beach in an attack claimed by Islamic State group (IS) on June 26. In March, an attack on the Bardo museum in the capital Tunis that was also claimed by IS left 21 tourists dead. The law replaces legislation from 2003 which was adopted under the dictatorship of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and rights groups say was largely used to crush dissent, in particular then-banned Islamist party Ennahda, which today is one of the main players in Tunisian politics. While the law was widely sup- ported by both secular and Islamist parties, it has been strongly criticised by rights groups and NGOs. “This law poses a real threat to rights and liberties in Tunisia,” said Amna Guellali, the Human Rights Watch representative in Tunis. (AFP) ing, reports from Burundi on Friday evening said the 51-yearold incumbent President Pierre Nkurunziza had won a controversial third term, although the final official results are not due until the end of next week. According to provisional results from the country’s electoral commission, Nkurunziza won nearly 70 per cent of the vote. As for the turnout, it was surprisingly more than 73 per cent, significantly higher than many analysts had predicted. However, as expected, regional and international bodies were quick to announce that “the conditions for credible and free elections were not met”. Still, it was generally acknowledged, even before the polls, that Nkurunziza was not facing any serious competition, and a win for him was more or less a foregone conclusion. In the event, it was not lost to many that Mr Nkurunziza’s CNDD-FDD party scored a widely expected landslide win in last month’s parliamentary polls, which were actually boycotted by the opposition. In light of the latest develop- ments, key opposition leader Agathon Rwasa was still hopeful that Burundi could be saved from total collapse. Speaking on Wednesday as the vote counting continued, he reportedly called on President Pierre Nkurunziza to hold talks with his rivals and form a national unity government once the final official results are in. According to Rwasa, a former rebel leader just like Nkurunziza, ones under the control of the militants, the significance of their capture cannot be ignored. Poignantly, playing central roles in the offensive were Kenyan and Ethiopian forces, supported by US army drones. The intensified anti-terror ac- tion came amid reports that both countries were keen to impress President Obama even before he visited the two countries. Significantly, about a week earlier Amisom had launched “Operation Juba Corridor”, an offensive it said was aimed at flushing Al-Shabaab insurgents out of rural areas in southern Somalia. The latest onslaught comes just over a month since the hosting by Kenya of a two-day anti-terror regional workshop. Held in Nairobi in mid-June, it was attended by delegates from 22 African countries, and focused on ways and means of addressing radicalisation and other vices associated with terrorism. A major objective of the meet was to fight terror by “finding ways of detecting, preventing and if possible stopping it.” Attackers ‘kill 25’ in Nigerian villages MAIDUGURI, Nigeria, Sunday At least 25 people were killed in new suspected Boko Haram attacks in northeastern Nigeria as many villagers fled their homes, residents have said. “The terrorists stormed Maikadiri around 9am and opened fire on hapless citizens,” said Simon Templer, a resident of the region. “They laid siege in daylight because there are no soldiers or police nearby,” said another survivor, Markus Ali. “We counted 21 corpses.” The attackers “killed, destroyed and then fled,” Ali said. Two other villages close to Maika- diri in southern Borno state were also attacked, said Maina Ularamu, chief of the Madagali district. “The gunmen arrived on 10 motor- bikes, two or three on each bike and attacked Kopa, Maikadiri and Yaffa” villages,” he told AFP. Four people were killed in Yaffa, he said. He claimed the extremists used fringes of the vast Sambisa forest, a long-standing hideout of the Islamist insurgents. The Nigerian army has led a se- ries of raids against them in recent months, succeeding in freeing several dozen women and children from the hands of the jihadists. Ularamu said the extremists may have been taking their revenge on their former neighbours. “They attacked their community PHOTO | AFP The scene of a blast at a restaurant in Nigerian city of Jos last month. to live in the villages before joining Boko Haram. “Now they have no limits and they are preying on their own community because of the pressure the army offensive has put on them,” Ularamu said. The villages hit are on the because they would not let them back when the army attacked their camps. Those who tried to come back were denounced and arrested by the authorities,” he said. Fatima Saleh, who lives in the neighbouring village of Maigana, said she saw the attackers pass and recognised many of them as locals. Officials in the region say Boko Haram is still active in the forest despite the military offensive against them. A police officer in Borno’s capital Maiduguri confirmed the attacks while requesting anonymity. (AFP)